The price was probably the best part. The in side rubber seal is not available any more so you have to purchase new system. For the price it was definately worth replacing the whole system. You will need a new cable though that is not provided.

Skrews supplied with these Nashbar cantilever brakes (ie. Tektro with NB logo) are too long for brake bosses on some forks. As a beginner bike builder paying attention to details (using a torque wrench, etc.), I slightly stripped the bosses' holes on the NB cyclocross carbon fork due to this error from NB (or its supplier). As for their actual performance, these brakes provide decent stopping power in dry condition for commuting or road biking. I don't recommend these for intense wet-condition cyclocross riding.

These brakes are actually Tektro Oryx brakes with Nashbar branding. Quality is great. Only complaint is that the pivots will seize if used all winter. But that is the same for any canti or v-brake.At the price, you can barely get the pads for this money, so even if I replace one or two after a season of snow and salt, they still are good value.

I installed these on my commuter bike a year ago. They install and adjust much more easily than the old smooth post cantis of the past. And I thought that V-brake style pivoting mechanism would be very durable. Unfortunately, it is not. Once it gums up with slush and salt, it's only a matter of time before the pivots freeze. And when they do, it doesn't matter what you soak them in. They're cooked. I the old style cantis freeze up, you just wrench them off the posts, sand everything down, reapply grease and they're as good as new. These unfortunately are disposable items.

For the price, I guess getting a year out of them isn't too bad. But you can buy Shimano knockoffs at any number of other suppliers that will last 10 times that long. And once you get the knack of adjusting them, they're not that much harder to put on. I use lots of Nashbar products and am generally happy with quality. But I cannot recommend these.

I needed to replace a set of old Shimano Altus cantilever brakes on a Trek 700 that I had picked up for free. The plastic sleeves were cracked on those brakes, so there was no way to get them properly adjusted.

I did not want to spend much on this bike, so kept my eye out for this Nashbar complete bikes worth to go on sale.

They installed with ease and I was able to get them well adjusted in a just a few minutes. The brake feel and stopping power were a big improvement from the old brakes that were on the bike.

I would buy them again, and in fact have a second set on hand to update one of my other bikes.

If they have the same feel after I have ridden 500 or so miles with them, I would up my ranking to a 5.